Machine for exhausting air from preserving vessels.



W. B. FENN.

MACHINE FOR EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. 1906. RENEWED MAY 18.1916.

1,2099%, Patented Dec. 26,1916.

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MACHINE FOR EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, I906- RENEWED MAY 18, I916- Patented Dec. 26,1916.

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MACHINE FOR EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS. APPLICATION FILEDMAR. 21. 1906- RENEWED MAY 18.1916

1 9,954. Patenied Dec. 26, 1916.

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WILLIAM B. FENN, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TOTHE WEDOIT 00., 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO.

MACHINE FOB EXHAUSTING AIR FROM PRESERVING VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Application filed March 21, 1906, Serial No. 307,280. Renewed May 18,1916. Serial No. 98,442.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM B. FENN, a citizen of the United States,residing at C0- lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forExhausting Air from Preserving Vessels; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

Heretofore air has been removed from jars and other vessels containingedibles or other substances to be preserved by inclosing the jar orvessel in a chamber and removing the air from the chamber andconsequently from the contained jar or vessel, the ar or vessel beinclosed or sealed while contained in the cham er. But because all ornearly all the operations were manually performed the work was slow andexpensive.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved machinewhereby most of the work is performed automatically, and also rapidlyand economically, it being only necessary to supply the jars or vesselswith their covers loosely placed thereon to the machine.

I will first describe a particular exemplification of the invention andthen point out in the claims appended hereto what I deem to be thefeatures of novelty.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating said exemplification Figure 1is an elevation with parts in section and parts omitted to avoidconfusion; Fig. 2 is a top plan view With a part of the largeintermediate bevel driving gear broken out; Fig. 8 is a horizontalsectional View on the line 01-w Fig. 1 with parts omitted; Fig. 4 is asimilar sectional view on the line y-y Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is also a similarsectional view on the line .a2 Fig. 1.

In the views 1 designates a hollow stationary standard having a hollowreduced portion 2 at its upper end. Turning on the portion 2 is a stem 8in the form of a cylindrical casing which carries at its upper end atable-like carrier 4 and at its lower end a similar table or carrier 5.The upper table 4 carries a series of vertically arranged cylindricalchambers 6 closed at their upper ends and each provided with a plunger 7having at its lower end a cavity 8. Each of the plungers 7 has a stem 9to which it is removably secured and which passes upward air-tightlythrough the upper end of the chamber 6 and the table 4. The plunger 7and its stem 9 are vertically movable, but the stem is engaged by anordinary adjustable friction device 9 by itself to hold it yieldingly inthe position to which it is moved. Communicably connecting each of thechambers 6 and the interior of the cylinder 3 is a pipe 10. The wallforming the cavity 8 is made with an opening 8. The upper end of thestem 9 is furnished with a roller 11 journaled on a collar 12 securedfor vertical adjustment by means of a set screw 13 passed through thecollar and engaging the stem.

Screwed into the upper end of the hollow reduced portion 2 is aplug-like stationary valve 14 having about midway its length ahorizontal recess or opening 15 extending about half way around itsside, as shown in Fig. 3, said opening communicating with the interiorof the portion 2 by means of a passage 15 extending axially through thevalve as indicated in Fig. 3 and by dotted lines Fig. l. The plug-likestationary valve 14 is provided on its side at a point slightly beyondthe end of the horizontal recess or opening 15 with a longitudinalgroove 16 extending from about on a line with the lower side of theopening 15 to the upper end of the valve. The valve 14 is shown to be oftapering form and between it and the cylindrical stem 3 is'a packingcollar or sleeve 17 fitting closely around the valve and serving to cutoff communication of the horizontal opening 15 in the plug with thecavity above it in the hollow stem 3. This packing collar is provided atits outer side with recesses 18 having inclined ,sides against whichimpinge the ends of screws 19 which when turned inward tend to adjustthe collar upward, thus compensating for wear of it and the plug and sokeeping the joint as air tight as practicable.

The plunger 7 and its stem 9 are held from turning by means of a smallangular piece 20 attached to the rim of the table 4 and engaging thecollar 12, and said collar is so placed and held that the roller 11 tothe plunger 7.

The table 5 carries at its upper side a series of supports 23 for thejars or other vessels containing the substances to be preserved andwhich are to be covered and sealed. These supports have stems 241 thatare extended down through the openings in the table and are provided attheir lower ends with anti-friction rollers 25. The upper surfaces ofthe jar supports 23 are provided with packing rings 23 adapted, when thesupport is moved upward against the lower ends of the chamber 6, toair-tightly close that end of the chamber.

26 is an inclined cam adapted, when the stem of a jar support is broughtaround to it, to elevate the jar and its support and preferablyair-tightly inclose the same within the chamber 6, or place it withinthe cavity 8 of the plunger 7 if the plunger be provided with suchcavity.

27 is another inclined cam located at a point to receive the roller 25when air admitted to the chamber 6 releases the jar support and for thepurpose of preventing the violent descent of the jar and its support,and permitting said parts to descend gradually and easily.

28 designates a gas pipe from which a small jet of gas flame may beprojected to heat the sealing material within the jar cover and renderit soft and pliable and therefore better adapted to seal the ar. I haveshown means for providing but one of these gas jets, but several shouldbe used in order that the sealing material shall be heated or warmed atall points.

29 designates a pipe through which air is exhausted from the hollowportion 2 by means of a pump (not shown) and 30 is a chamber interposedbetween the pump and the pipe 29 to increase the attenuating orexhausting effect. Suitable check valves (not shown) may be provided toprevent the return of pumped air as is usual in air- -exhausting pumps.

The spindle 3 and therefore the carriers or tables 4: and 5 are rotatedby the aid of an appropriate mechanism comprising, in the instanceshown, the large spur gear 31, secured to the upper end of the spindle3, the spur pinion 32, on a shaft having at its upper endthe large bevelgear 33 that is driven by a bevel pinion 34 at one end of a shaftcontaining suitable fast and loose pulleys 35 and 36 so that the machinemay be operated or stopped as desired.

37 is an arm placed horizontally in the path of the jar and inclinedwith reference to said path for the purpose of successively crowding thesealed jars off their supports. The jars may be thus transferred to asuitable conveyer for taking them away from the machine in a wellunderstood manner.

In the exemplification of my invention as depicted in the accompanyingdrawings, I have indicated that there are fifteen of the jar supports 23on the carrier 5, and a corresponding number of the air-exhaustingchambers 6 on the carrier 1. The air-exhausting chambers are arrangeddirectly above the jar supports.

Plunger-s 7 of different form or size can be substituted for that shownto suit the size and character of jar to be treated. In some instancesthe plunger may be omitted altogether and reliance had upon the pressureof atmospheric air through the groove .16 to sufficiently close thecover.

In practice the carriers =1 and 5 are re volved continuously, and theair-exhausting pump also operated continuously, and an attendant placesthe jars with their covers loosely seated thereon one after another onthe several supports as they pass the arm 37. The cam 26 lifts thesupports one after another into position to project the jars into thechambers 6, the sealing material being heated in its passage upward.WVhen a support is so far elevated by the cam 26 that the lower end of achamber 6 is closed by the ring 23 said chamber will have arrived at apoint where the suction of the air through the recess 15 and orifice 15in the valve 14 will tightly close the jar support against the loweropen end of the chamber 6 and hold said support in that position byatmospheric pressure and Without other aid. The jar support will be heldin this position in its passage around the recess 15, but when theroller 11 reaches the cam groove 22 the plunger 7 will be depressed andthe cover of the jar tightly seated thereon. Thereafter and when thepipe 10 arrives opposite the groove 16 in the valve 1 1 atmospheric airfrom the space in the spindle 3 above the'valve is admitted to thechamber 6, whereupon the jar support and jar descend by gravity to theiroriginal position, the descent being made gradual and easy by reason ofthe inclined cam 27. As the table continues to revolve the jars areremoved by the arm 37, or they may be removed by hand, as may bedesired.

From this construction it will be observed that the operation ofexhausting the air from jars and sealing them is largely automatic, theonly manual operation involved being the placing of the jars with theircovers into the machine, which manual operation does not require skilledor expensive labor.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for exhausting air from vessels, the combination of arotary carrier, a series of receivers supported thereby, a hollowspindle for said carrier, pipes connecting said receivers and spindle, atapering stationary ported valye Within the spindle adapted to open andclose said pipes, and an axially adjustable packing sleeve between saidvalve and hollow spindle, said acking sleeve being provided withopenings to establish communication of the pipes with the ports of thevalve, and means in the spindle for adjusting the packing sleeve.

2. In a machine for exhausting air from vessels, the combination of arotary carrier, a series of vessels confining receivers supportedthereby, a hollow spindle for said carrier, pipes connecting saidreceivers and spindle, a tapering stationary valve within the spindleadapted to open and close said pipes, said valve having a horizontalelongated port adapted to keep several of said pipes open simultaneouslyfor exhaustion of air and an air admission port beyond said horizontalport.

3. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a basehaving an upright chambered standard, a stationary valve on the upperend of said standard having a passage communicating with the chamber ofthe standard, a casing rotatably 'mountedon the standard and surroundingthe stationary valve, a series of vessel receiving casings supported bythe rotary casing, a series of vessel supports carried by the rotarycasing and arranged to cooperate with said receiving casings, ductsleading from the latter casings to the rotary casing and arranged to bemoved into and out of register with the passage of the valve, and airexhausting means in communication with the chamber of the standard.

4. In a machine for exhausting air from vessels, the combination of areceiver, a vessel support adapted to open and close said receiver,means for exhausting air from the receiver and a vessel therein, areciprocable plunger or capping device in said receiver having a cavityin its lower end adapted to inclose the vessel, said plunger beingreadily removable, whereby a different plunger having a diflerent sizedcavity may be substituted for treating vessels of a different size.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

XVILLIAM B. FENN.

Witnesses:

ULYSSES R. PETERS, BENJ. FINCKEL.

